Commercial parlance test governs sales tax classification of semi-finished plastic components integrated into finished goods.

Sales tax classification of plastic grills for transistor radios turned on commercial understanding rather than technical or dictionary meaning. The court noted that a transistor radio is a finished product sold with its mechanism, case and fitted parts, and that the grills, after processing, became part of that finished article. Because the grills were semi-finished components meant to be processed and fitted into the radio, they were neither ordinary replacement spares nor accessories in market parlance. They were therefore excluded from entry 65 in Schedule C and treated as goods made primarily from plastics under entry 19A(b) in Schedule E.

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Issues: Whether plastic grills supplied for transistor radios were accessories or spare parts falling under entry 65 in Schedule C to the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959, or whether they were goods made primarily from plastics falling under entry 19A(b) in Schedule E.

Analysis: The classification of goods in sales tax entries depends on their commercial understanding in the market and not on a purely technical or dictionary meaning. A transistor radio is sold as a finished article comprising its mechanism together with the case and fitted parts, and the grill in question, after processing, formed part of that finished product. The grill was not an item used as a replacement in the ordinary course of wear and tear, nor was it a spare item for emergency use. As manufactured, it was only a semi-finished product meant to be processed and fitted into the radio, which made it inappropriate to describe it either as an accessory or as a spare part.

Conclusion: The plastic grills did not fall under entry 65 in Schedule C and were liable to be classified under entry 19A(b) in Schedule E, in favour of the assessees.

Ratio Decidendi: For sales tax classification, an item must be understood as it is known in common parlance and as part of the finished marketable product; a semi-finished article that becomes an integral component of the finished goods is not an accessory or spare part merely because the finished goods can function without it in a technical sense.

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